The parents of a six-month-old baby who died at Colchester Hospital said they’ll never forgive the NHS for taking away their precious last moments together.

The inquest into the death of baby Iris Ann Day, who died on December 2, 2016, was concluded this afternoon (November 14).

Her cause of death was heart failure due to a complex heart condition that was diagnosed before birth, the inquest heard.

Coroner Doctor Jolanta Mckenzie, said there were "failings in the care provided by Colchester Hospital."

Baby Iris, who had Down's Syndrome and a cardiac abnormality (Atrioventricular Septal Defect), was waiting for a life-saving heart operation which was cancelled twice, with one cancellation because of a lack of beds in the Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) at Evelina children's hospital in London.

Due to her heart condition, doctors had scheduled surgery to operate on her heart and advised that it take place between three and six months old.

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Three surgeries were scheduled over a three month period at Evelina Children’s hospital, London, and then cancelled, with one reason being that baby Iris was too unwell for surgery.

Another scheduled surgery that was due to take place was cancelled the day before, after preoperative tests were completed.

On December 2, 2016 Iris’ parents took her to Colchester Hospital University accident and emergency department after feeling concerned for her health.

When she was admitted they performed examinations and a blood gas test to find out her oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.

Due to her condition she had had respiratory and heart rate problems in the past, and had transient tachypnea, also known as 'wet lungs', a respiratory disorder where fluid is retained in the lungs of newborns.

During that admission she was transferred to the high dependancy unit (HDU) where pediatrician consultant Doctor Jalloh was on call. X-rays were conducted on Iris’ chest as she had recently recovered from a respiratory infection a few weeks before.

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As baby Iris was a patient and waiting for surgery at Evelina, it was understood if her condition had changed they would be informed.

On this occasion, the inquest heard how Mr and Mrs Day repeatedly asked nurses and doctors who were checking in on Iris, whether the specialist hospital had been called, in case she would need to be transferred to that facility.

Staff eventually told them that Evelina had been called and updated on her condition and that they were not concerned.

This however, was found not to be true and staff at Evelina were never called despite it being advised within the doctor's notes, the inquest heard.

Her condition was stable from the early hours in the morning when she was admitted until approximately 10am but then Iris' heart rate and temperature began to increase.

After nearly 12 hours in hospital, nursing staff told the parents that Iris’ condition was stable and that her heart rate and temperature were within the normal range so they decided to head home to pick up a few of Iris’ things and to shower to return back to the hospital.

But when they were at home, at around 2.20pm they received a call from the hospital telling them they needed to come back as Iris' health had deterioated.

When they were on their way, Mrs Day called the hospital and asked them to expand on 'deteriorated' and they were told that baby Iris had stopped breathing.

Iris' mother Hannah Day, said during day two of the inquest: "Iris was surrounded by medical staff and they were performing CPR. Iris was lifeless.

"We were unconsolable. Our first question was 'what the hell happened'."

She added that the doctor shrugged his shoulders and replied "Iris rapidly deteriorated. We tried to cannulate her and she went into cardiac arrest."

She continued: "I don't feel there has been a whole lot of compassion from the staff, to them we have been another patient."

Mr Day said at the inquest: "I want to thank the midwife who brought Iris into the world and the team at Evelina who gave us another month with our baby girl."

The inquest heard from expert witnesses who looked over baby Iris' patient notes and full health history, including Doctor Kelsall, who is a pediatrician consultant at Cambridge hospital, and Doctor Timothy Jones, a pediatrician consultant at Peterborough City hospital.

Recommendations included that another blood gas test should have been conducted again and a cannular attempted to be inserted earlier.

Her condition worsened after Mr and Mrs Day left, and NHS staff failed to call the parents sooner when baby Iris' health deteriorated, and because of this they were not at the hospital when she tragically died.

Doctor Jolanta Mckenzie concluded the inquest with a narrative verdict.

She said: "There were failings in care provided by Colchester hospital."

The cause of death was Atrioventricular Septal Defect with pulmonary hypertension.

Speaking outside after the inquest, Iris' mother, said she would "never forgive" the staff at the hospital for their actions leading up in the days before her death.

"She was absolutely our whole world, to know that she was let down, that we were wrongly reassured, because of that I wasn't able to be with my baby when she passed away, or console her when she was unconsolable," she said.

"That in her final moments she would have been uncomfortable, she would have been sad, and she wouldn't have had her mummy and daddy with her.

"That is something that I will never forgive them for, for taking that away from us."

Ben Day, her father, said: “The serious majority of NHS staff who came in contact with Iris in her short life let her and her family down.

"My advice to any parent with an ill child is to be that annoying squeaky wheel. The only advocate for that child are the parents."

“We would like to pass on our sincere condolences to the family of Iris Day following her death in December last year.

“The Trust carried out a detailed investigation into the circumstances leading up to Iris’s death and has made a number of changes.

“These include improvements to the way we monitor and treat children whose condition is deteriorating and an increased emphasis on early communication with specialist (tertiary) hospitals for expert advice.”